


Stars in Their Eyes

by jetblackprelude



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Alternate Universe - Space, F/F, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-21
Updated: 2018-08-12
Packaged: 2019-02-17 23:07:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13087350
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetblackprelude/pseuds/jetblackprelude
Summary: Captain Kaito Momota of the starship Luminary is on a mission-- to convince a young prince from not committing intergalactic conquest of hundreds of worlds. It won't be easy, given the prince is a little brat and possibly (?) pure evil. But nothing is impossible for Captain Momota and his crew!----AU where Momota is the human captain of a starship and the rest of the characters are different aliens.





	1. Starting Captain's Log

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to write something with Momota as a main character, and this is what I'm coming up with. Updates might be slower than my other current work, not sure yet.  
> Also, I haven't really come up with alien names or planet names because naming stuff is hard D: I might figure out names later? Or not...
> 
> JAN 3 EDIT - I learned to implement color text in my work, and I personally think that would help tell when certain characters are speaking in a different language? Please let me know if there are any complaints. Currently I'm using -  
> black dialogue - for a common known language that almost all important characters use (minus Kokichi)  
> purple dialogue \- the language of Kokichi's homeworld, some characters like Shuichi & Maki don't know it  
> I like the idea, but if it doesn't work out I will change it

“Captain, we will be reaching our destination in 15.”

“Alright! Shuichi, send a message to the Majesty,” exclaimed Kaito as he entered the bridge of the ship.

Kaito Momota was one of the few humans to be in charge of an intergalactic crew. It had been a difficult journey, but now here he was, sitting in the captain's chair and traveling through the vastness of space. First officer Shuichi, a blue-skinned humanoid with pointy ears, was typing up a message for their arrival. Up front was the android K1-B0, who was the main pilot of the ship. There were other crew members on the bridge doing their jobs, all of them coming from different parts of the universe.

“Momota, I want to talk with you,” said a quiet, cold voice to the side of Kaito.

He looked up and smiled friendly, “What's on your mind, Maki Roll?”

Maki's red eyes narrowed in minor irritation. Many would find her species to be intimidating—with scaly black skin, whip like tail, and sharp claws and teeth. And while some of the crew members were indeed a bit nervous around her, Kaito never saw any reason to worry.

“Are you sure you don't want to rethink our plan for meeting the Majesty?” asked Maki. “Bring in a bigger party to the palace, for security.” While her tone held the same coldness, one could see in her eyes a bit of concern.

“Maki, I've talked about this,” sighed Kaito. “I don't want to show up with half the fucking crew and a bunch of blasters! We gotta make negotiations with this guy.”

“I've worked for this royal family in the past, I know how they think. If the prince is anything like his mother then it's pointless to play nice. We have to—”

“It's _not_ pointless!” he yelled and hit the chair arm with his fist. A couple of the others looked towards them. Kaito lowered his voice, “It's not pointless... just have a little faith, Maki Roll. The prince was the one who opened the door for negotiations by inviting the federation, that's already a huge step.”

“Fine... but if they try to hurt you or the first officer, I will kill him myself,” hissed Maki, her “hair” (which was really a stylized fringe of rough skin) began to stand on ends.

As Maki headed to her monitor screen, Kaito slouched down on his seat. The planet they were heading to, in recent decades had been gaining a lot of power by the conquering of smaller planets. The most recent queen didn't hide her intentions of creating a bloody regime which would span galaxies. However, before her plans really hit their stride, she became ill and passed away (oh, but there were definitely rumors concerning her untimely death). Now the crown would be passed on to the prince whose first declaration was oddly, one of peace. The prince went on to invite the intergalactic federation to his coronation, and agreed to discuss matters of a treaty. It was something so unexpected, but the higher ups seemed hopeful that it was a sign of things changing in the universe. Kaito was chosen to go to this coronation in part because he was one of the few who knew the main language of the planet, but also because he had a good track record of winning people over to his side. Even with his brashness, he was a charismatic guy. And if there was ever trouble, he had Shuichi to back him up and provide a more analytical side to things.

“Captain, we will be landing at a docking station momentarily,” said K1-B0.

“Everyone! Remember we're staying for a few weeks! Even if I'm not around to babysit ya, be on your A game! We can't screw up!” yelled Kaito.

* * *

As Kaito exited out of his ship, he was greeted by a hulking insectoid. He had a dark green exoskeleton with brown markings. On the top of their head was a wild mass of dark green, furry hair and two large antennas. For some reason, he wore a pair of silver glasses that were too tiny for his red compound eyes. His uniform seemed to be a tight fit, but it was neatly worn.

“Welcome! We are excited to have the federation visit,” said the insect man. He did not speak in the main language of the planet, but rather one of the universally common languages. “I am Gonta and I will be escorting you to the palace. Also, I can be a translator if needed! My job is to ensure dealings with his Majesty go smoothly.”

“Thanks! I'm Captain Momota of the Luminary,” replied Kaito and then gestured to the two crew members accompanying him. “This is Lieutenant Shuichi and Private Maki. who I'm taking with me to this first visit.”

Gonta nodded. “The rest of your crew will be shown towards the hotel that you will stay at during your visit,” he added and then turned to lead the way.

They were taken to a double-decker hover bus and sat on the open roof section so that there would be enough room for Gonta to sit. Kaito and Shuichi watched with interest as they passed by streets being decorated with white and black. Gonta explained with glee that those were royal colors and preparations were underway for the many coronation festivities. Meanwhile, Maki folded her arms and kept her head down low.

When they reached the palace, Gonta escorted them to a sitting room and informed them he would come back shortly. Kaito glanced around the luxurious room and then turned his attention to Maki and Shuichi. “Well, so far so good,” he said. “Gonta seems like a nice fellow.”

“Maybe so, but we still have to meet his Majesty,” replied Maki. “Who knows what the prince is like.”

“Maki Roll, don't be a downer—”

“Shh, I can sense others just past this door,” whispered Shuichi. The antenna on top of his dark blue hair was moving around on its own and his normally grey eyes were slightly glowing yellow. These were the signs that he was examining different electromagnetic waves. He picked up on the radio waves of two figures right outside the room. “Gonta is right outside, he's talking to someone smaller...”

“If we can't hear them talk, then they can't hear us,” pointed out Maki, but she settled back and dropped the conversation anyway.

A little while later, there was a knock on the door and it opened. Gonta stepped in, he seemed a little nervous and was wringing his clawed hands together. After him came a maid with grey skin and 6 arms. Similar to Gonta, she had furry “hair” expect it was grey and styled to cover her left eyes. Her right side showed that her eyes were green, one human eye and two spider-like eyes on top. The black maid dress reached the floor and was concealing her spider abdomen.

“Greetings, my name is Kirumi and I'm the head maid. His Majesty is still getting ready, so may I get you all refreshments while you wait?” said Kirumi in a polite tone, using the same language Gonta did. “We have a lovely selection of teas.”

“He's getting ready?” asked Kaito in slight disbelief. “What, has he been sleeping in all day?”

“....I don't believe so,” she answered slowly, as if choosing her words carefully. “Captain, I promise you will get to speak with the prince today but for now, you may enjoy some relaxation time. If you take that back door you'll find yourself in a garden. You may stay in this room or in the garden. Would you like refreshments?”

Shuichi and Maki looked towards their captain for the final say. Kaito shrugged his shoulders. “Sure, get me a tea that you recommend. Something unique to this world.”

Kirumi nodded and turned to the other two to get their orders. Gonta stepped up and said, “I have business to attend. If you need anything else please ask Kirumi. Only very few people in the palace know more than one language.” The two left the room, closing the door behind them. Kaito stood up and stretched a bit.

“I think they're hiding something,” said Maki.

Shuichi hesitated, but then nodded in agreement. “They are keeping a secret... but I'm not sure it's malicious? It _is_ strange that the prince isn't ready though, since they knew of our arrival.”

“Well! I believe in them,” energetically said Kaito. He hit his fists together in a show of determination. “We're gonna talk to this damn prince today and we'll get him to form a treaty with the federation by the end of our visit or my name isn't Kaito Momota, Luminary of the Stars!” With that declaration, Kaito turned around, his purple military jacket (which he always wore more like a cape) swished dramatically, and he walked outside to the garden.

It was a beautiful garden area with a small patio, a pond, and a path that led farther in. There were a wide array of flowers and foliage decorating the area, a few of them Kaito recognized but most were unknown to him. It was always a joy to experience new things while visiting different worlds. Even if he could live a million lifetimes, Kaito felt he would still encounter new things in the universe. As he walked farther into the garden, he toyed with the idea of asking for a plant to take for his collection back on the ship. But... why did he suddenly get the feeling he was being watched? He looked around quickly, but didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. He turned around to head back inside, when suddenly someone was standing a few paces away.

“Dammit! You startled me there!”

The other individual titled their head in confusion and asked, "What? What did you say?” Kaito realized that the other was speaking in the dominant language of this world. They looked like a human, except with porcelain white skin and wispy, purple smoke for hair. They were short, barely reaching Kaito's shoulders. Their clothes were simple and casual, the most noticeable thing was the checkerboard neckerchief tied to their neck.

“I said that you scared me for a sec,” replied Kaito in the language the other would understand. “I thought I was alone in this garden.”

The other grinned. “You thought wrong! I've been here since you step foot into the garden, seeeeecretely creeping on you~!”

“Uhhhh, alright then.”

“Nishishi! Actually, that's a lie! I was waiting up on this tree for someone to pass by, Fate decided it was you. But who are you anyway? Are you a new servant?”

“No!” Kaito was a bit offended by that question (couldn't the other tell by his uniform?), but figured he'd introduce himself. “I'm Captain Kaito Momota! The federation's own Luminary of the Stars!”

“Ooooooh.... you're one of the idiot federation folk,” said the stranger with a tone of disgust.

“Ey, watch your damn tongue,” hissed Kaito.

The stranger placed his hands behind his back and swayed side to side while talking. “Eeeh? Am I hurting your feelings? The poor captain can't handle a few words?” All this time they were still grinning, like a kid who was playing a joke on someone.

Kaito walked past the other in a huff, he knew it was better to leave as soon as possible. He was known among the crew for being hot-headed, but he _did_ try to keep his cool when meeting strangers. It's just... this stranger was giving him bad vibes. They were probably hiding something, though what that was Kaito couldn't say.

“Hey! Hey! Where are we going?” asked the small stranger as they tried to keep pace with Kaito.

“ _We_ aren't going fucking anywhere,” replied Kaito. “I've got a meeting with the prince. You can go back to that tree and wait for someone else to play with ya.”

“The prince isn't gonna listen to an idiot like you!”

“I'll make him listen!”

“You got a plan then?”

“I'll figure that out when I meet him!”

The stranger stopped walking, They watched quietly as Kaito headed back into the sitting room. “That guy might be a bigger imbecile than I expected,” they muttered to themselves. Their brief fun now over, they headed off towards another door into the palace. After all, they had an important meeting to attend in a little bit.

 


	2. Space Politics Are Boring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As I was writing this chapter I decided to start adding color text to this story. I edited chapter 1 to explain my reasoning. Please let me know if WRITING IN THIS COLOR is annoying or unnecessary. I like the idea, but maybe it doesn't work as nice as I think it does.

Kaito arrived to the room to see Kirumi pouring tea and coffee while also holding two trays of snacks. She smiled politely, fangs peaking out a bit, and she handed Kaito a cup of tea with pink smoke coming out. “It's a popular drink here,” she said. She set down the rest of the refreshments and excused herself from the room with a bow. Kirumi walked down the hall at a brisk pace, and she turned the corner just in time to spot a familiar head of purple smoke. She rushed up and grabbed a hold of them with 3 hands.

“I hope you've had enough fun now, your Majesty,” she said in a stern tone. 

“Nishishi~ oh, not really,” they snickered. “That captain was pretty boring, what kind of thing is he anyway?”

“I believe he is an Earthling. Your people borrowed a few cosmetic traits from them and other biped species, but Earthlings are warm-blooded mammals.” she replied while gently pushing the prince towards the bedroom.

“Eww, so inside he's meat and blood and squishy stuff?”

“And a skeleton.”

“Gross...”

“Let's just hurry and get you changed, Prince Kokichi.”

The duo entered the bedroom, and a little part of Kirumi cried inside when she saw the entire contents of the closet were now thrown all across the room. She picked up a random shirt that was hanging from a curved lamp and quietly folded it. Kirumi walked around the room, folding multiple clothes at once while she tried to find the outfit the two of them had agreed on earlier. Eventually she came across the black dress shirt and matching shorts, there were still parts of the outfit missing but it was a start. With skill that came from using 4 hands she quickly dressed Kokichi.

“Gee, it sure is a mess here. Maybe someone tried to rob this place?” asked Kokichi with a huge grin on his face.

“I'm positive that didn't happen. Rather, I suspect a certain individual threw everything out of the closet while he was searching for an outfit that our guests wouldn't suspect a prince to wear,” said Kirumi.

“Nishishi! I wanted to disguise myself as a maid at first, but none of the dresses were my size.”

Kirumi was back to searching around the room, she glanced towards the prince and said, “I'd prefer you didn't dress up as the help. And please, try not to smile so much. You'll crack your face.”

“Yes Moooom.”

She found the rest of the outfit; black knee socks, shoes, and a long white coat. She tied a checkerboard ribbon into a neck bow to complete the outfit. Kokichi gave her a small smile and dashed out of the room. He reached the room where the trio of guests waited and waved happily at Gonta who was waiting in front of the door. “Go on and introduce me! I don't wanna go to the throne room.”

Gonta briefly hesitated but bowed in agreement. He opened the door and said, “His Majesty has arrived. Allow me to introduce you all to Prince Kokichi—”

Kokichi squeezed into the room and yelled, “Greetings to the Federation! Welcome to my world!” They smiled and immediately made a point to lock eyes with Kaito. A flash of shock passed through the captain's face, it was brief but very noticeable to everyone in the room. Kokichi walked up and held Kaito's hand in both of their smaller hands. Meanwhile, the two crew members looked to their captain with some confusion.

“It's an honor to meet ya, your Highness!” said Kaito boldly, he was probably trying to cover up any awkwardness.

“Oh, but the honor is mine!” cheerfully said Kokichi. “I've heard so much about the federation's dashing Luminary of the Stars~!”

Kaito faltered a bit, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. But he tried to smile and motioned over to his crew. “Let me introduce ya to Lieutenant Shuichi and Private Maki.”

“Hello~ you guys should have come to the garden earlier! We could have met!”

Maki turned towards Gonta and asked, “Does the prince know any of the common languages?”

“It is part of his lessons, but his Majesty has been struggling with it,” answered Gonta.

“Oh! He just said he wishes he met with us earlier,” said Kaito. He was trying to discretely pull his hand away but Kokichi had a surprisingly strong grip on him.

Shuichi gave a small smile to the prince. “Please tell him hello for us then, Captain.” He turned to Maki and tried to get her to say something as well, but she only gave a curt nod.

“If those two can't talk to me, there's no point in them being here,” said Kokichi. “Gonta! Invite them to the garden or something! You can show them your bug buddies!”

“H-His Majesty would like me to give you two a garden tour! Since... you two will have difficulty following the conversation,” he said while tapping his claws together in growing concern.

“You can just translate for us, right Gonta? We'll stay,” bluntly said Maki.

The way that Maki glared at Kokichi was enough to let them know that she had rejected the offer. Kokichi didn't like reptilians, most of the assassins that their mother would hire were a part of that species. Maki definitely had those kind of cold, red eyes that promised death would be quick. So yeah, she was creepy but Kokichi wasn't planning on letting her spot their uneasiness. Sitting next to her was Shuichi, who seemed meek and nice and very blue. Whatever Shuichi was, Kokichi decided he was pretty looking, his eyes were especially noteworthy because of the black markings right under them. Shuichi could end up being rather boring, but Kokichi thought to keep an eye on him for now.

Then there was the captain. Still an idiot, though he was a bit harder to rile up while others were present. So maybe there could be some fun in seeing how long until Kaito snapped in front of everyone? Something that the prince realized was that they could vaguely feel warmth from holding the dummy captain's hand. It was.... kinda weird? Really weird? It was a foreign feeling, Kokichi couldn't think of anyone he interacted with whose touch felt particularly warm and soft. It was kind of interesting and part of why they hadn't yet let go of Kaito's hand. But the main reason was to see the slight vexation in Kaito's face.

“Okay your Highness, why don't ya take a seat?” said Kaito. He was trying to nudge the prince towards a sofa chair. “Then we can thank ya properly for the invite.”

“Fineee,” sighed Kokichi, finally letting go of Kaito and taking a seat where they could see everyone else in the room. “But you must be mistaken, Captain. What invite?”

“...The invite to your coronation, of course.”

Kokichi tapped a finger to their chin and innocently said, “What invitation? What coronation? I'm not having a coronation!”

It was fun seeing Kaito struggle to keep his cool. His eye visibly twitched and he coughed a bit before saying, “W-Well we have the recording of your holographic invite if ya need proof...”

“That's not me! Someone must have impersonated me!”

Gonta's antenna drooped and he tried to interject, “Your Majesty...”

“Gonta, you're a sweetheart but don't interrupt me,” said Kokichi without batting an eye. He moved a bit closer towards Kaito and smiled wider, like he was enjoying this little back and forth. “Tell me Captain... why would I invite the damn federation to my coronation? After all the nasty things they've said about my family... calling my poor momma a bloody tyrant...”

“Hmph, that's not much of a lie—” grumbled Kaito, making sure the prince couldn't understand him.

“Did you say something? Speak up!”

“I said: then I'll give my bosses a report on what a great guy you are!”

“Don't try lying, dear Captain. It doesn't suit an idiot like you...” whispered Kokichi. They were sure that by now they were grinning ear to ear, even though they couldn't really _feel_ it. Then he shouted, “But I _was_ lying! Of course I wouldn't forget how I invited my enemies to my castle! Nishishi~”

“Just what the hell is your damn problem?” growled Kaito, but he immediately looked like he regretted it.

“Captain Momota, don't let him rile you up,” said Shuichi. Despite not understanding a word that was being said, he could still read the mood.

“I want to know what's going on,” added Maki.

“Don't worry about it, Maki Roll,” said Kaito. “The prince is just being a jokester.”

“Yess! Jokesster! The Majesty has a ccertain sssense of humor,” buzzed Gonta, he was a little nervous and it messed with his speech a little. “Your Majessty, be a little more polite.”

“I'm being perfectly polite! As polite as I can be to people that represent a group that I can't stand! Ha! Ha! HA!” they yelled with an almost manic glee, kicking their legs up in the air a bit.

“H-Hey, come on now... we only just met,” mumbled Kaito. He looked like he was about to say more, but became startled once he got a better look at Kokichi's face. Shuichi gasped softly, while Maki's glare seemed to intensify.

Kokichi's face was cracking. He had dozens of small cracks around his mouth, and about 2 or 3 bigger ones in other parts of his face. One long crack started at their right cheek and went diagonally to their left eye. Something blackish purple was trying to ooze out of the many cracks, but they seemed to still be thin enough that not a lot of that stuff was getting out. Gonta approached Kokichi and lifted the prince out of their seat with one hand.

“You told us that you would do your best to behave,” whispered Gonta in a stern tone. He then turned to their guests and said, “I apologize for his Majesty. I've already arranged transportation for you all to get to the hotel. We'll be in touch soon, none of us here have forgotten the talks of peace.”

“Alright, glad to hear that from you at least,” said Kaito and he got up to leave. Shuichi turned to him and pulled out a small gift that was tucked in their uniform jacket. “Oh! Right, thanks Shuichi.”

He took the gift and turned towards Kokichi with an earnest smile. “A present for the prince, I hope we can get along better in the foreseeable future!”

Kokichi looked up at the captain and took the wrapped box with another big grin, “Why thaaank you! My dear Captain, I hope we can have some fun really soon! Nishi!”

* * *

K1-B0 was waiting outside the hotel when the hovercraft arrived to drop off the trio. Shuichi was the first to step out of the vehicle, and the android rushed up to embrace him. “I detected exhaustion from your tone when you called on the way here,” said K1-B0. “Was there some conflict of interest?”

Shuichi returned the hug and then gave a small kiss to the android's forehead. “Maybe? I couldn't follow the conversation most of the time, either the prince really hates the federation or they really enjoy joking at the expense of others. Could be a bit of both.”

“A difficult being to deal with... How did the captain and private handle things?”

“Everything was fine!” said Kaito as he and Maki approached the other two. “We can talk about it more inside, ok?”

“Of course, Captain Momota!” declared K1-B0 as he separated from Shuichi and saluted his captain. “I'll show you to your room! Most of us are sharing rooms, but Captain Momota has a master suite.”

The four of them headed inside the hotel and K1-B0 led them to Kaito's room. There was a small sitting area where they could continue talking. Shuichi and K1-B0 sat on the sofa together while Maki and Kaito had individual chairs. Everyone was quiet for a bit, just relaxing before they began talking about that meeting.

“That prince wouldn't stop giggling, whatever he was saying he gave me a bad feeling,” Maki was first to talk. “It reminded me of his mother.... the one time I met her.”

“What do you remember about the queen? This was... from your former job, correct?” asked Shuichi.

Maki nodded, she closed her eyes and tried to sort out her memories. “My people are known for their strength and swiftness; we make good soldiers, bodyguards, and assassins. I... was requested by the queen for my skills, I don't remember all the details of the job. I remember she was very giddy and excited to see me. She laughed frequently during our conversation.... but her mood could change very easily. At one point she started laughing and ranting about how much she hated the political opponent that she wanted me to kill.”

“Did you take the job?” wondered K1-B0.

“Of course, I didn't have much choice back then. But around that time... I found a way out of that lifestyle.”

“Well, I'm real glad you got to leave that behind and we found you. We all are, you're a good teammate Maki Roll,” said Kaito, he wanted to brighten up the mood even just a little.

“So you see, we have to doubt the prince's true intentions.”

“L-Let's not go there just yet. It's only our first day and I think he was fucking around,” reasoned Kaito.

“I recall that a popular nickname for her was the Mad Queen,” interjected K1-B0. “Or variations of that. Perhaps she was sick? And it runs in the family?”

“ L-Let's not try to diagnose the royal family like that,” said Shuichi. He patted the android's hand and gave a disapproving look.

“I wouldn't say the prince is crazy! He's more like... childish and angry. And I can forgive that kind of shit for the most part. A lot of heavy stuff must be going on in his life now that his mom died. I'm the one who talked to him and I believe he's a good guy!” exclaimed Kaito.

“.....Fair enough. I'll try to take your word on that,” said Maki.

Shuichi had one more question before the subject of the prince was dropped. “Maki, do you know anything about the prince's condition towards the end of our meeting? I mean, all those cracks...”

“I only remember that the queen was similar. The more... manic that she appeared, then the more cracks would appear. They would spread down her body also.”

Kaito suppressed a shiver, that moment had definitely been a bit creepy. Such a cute face had become almost twisted in that instant. It reminded him of the ceramic doll that he broke when he was a kid. It ended up with a big crack across the face, and Kaito became convinced that an angry spirit would take over the doll and haunt him. Kokichi wasn't a ghost though, so there was nothing to worry about regarding that.

“Alright! Well I'm starving, let's find some dinner and then get some rest! Tomorrow's another day and who knows what to expect from His Majesty. We'll just power on through,” said Kaito, and he jumped out of his seat to figure out how to spend the rest of the night.

 


	3. Morning at Dice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me to myself: hey you havent updated this fic in a while, you should fix that
> 
> and so here were are, the start of february and there's finally another chapter. this premise gives me a fair amount of ideas, let's see how many i end up using

 In the early morning, the sky was a pale green and one could see two moons side by side. K1-B0's scheduled recharging had finished before Shuichi had woken up, and so the android had gotten up from their bed and went to sit on the balcony of the room. He was trying to look up tourist information about this planet, Daisu Prime, on the mini PC attached to his wrist. If they were planning to stay here for some time, then K1-B0 wanted to plan some sort of romantic outing with Shuichi. Granted, he had no romantic experience prior to getting together with Shuichi, but he had immediately started research on the subject. And 'dates' were something the android really wanted to be able to do. So far his online search wasn't what he hoped for; it seemed like Daisu Prime was really well known for gambling and casinos.

K1-B0 felt a buzzing in his ears, and a mini screen flashed in his eyes. It was an incoming call from Kaito. “Good morning Captain,” said K1-B0 after accepting the call.

“Hey, mornin' Is Shuichi awake?”

“Negative. Do you need him? I can go wake him up—?”

“Nah, you don't gotta do that! Let him sleep, most of us barely get good rest to begin with,” said Kaito with a bit of a chuckle. “But.. uh Imma leave a message with you for everyone else! I got an invite to have breakfast at the castle just now. So today is a free day for everyone.”

“Alone? Hmm, I'm not sure whether that's positive news.”

“Eh? What makes ya say that?”

“You bickered with the prince, correct? My understanding is that Shuichi and others in the room helped defuse the situation. They might want to keep you separated to exploit your temper.”

“M-My temper ain't _that_ bad...” pouted Kaito. “Besides, I can't say no to an invite.”

“That is correct. Still, you should proceed with caution.”

“Yeah, yeah. I'll be good.”

They hung up and K1-B0 headed towards Maki's room. By now at least her or her roommate Tenko should be awake. He knocked on the door and immediately heard Tenko's voice yell out, “Who is it?”

“Good morning Tenko! I have a message from the Captain!”

“One sec!” After a few moments, Tenko opened the door. She was a plant species with leafy skin adorned with small, budding flowers. She had dark roots which were styled into long pigtails, and on the back of her head was a white flower with four leaves that made it look like a hair bow.

“....Mornin',” said Maki. She was sitting by the coffee table which had a number of tourist pamphlets spread across it.

“Make it quick K1-B0! I'm trying to convince Maki to do a girls night out with me later,” explained Tenko. She was one of the crew members who wasn't really scared of the lizard, because she was a firm believer that all girls were cute and had good hearts.

“Very well, Captain was invited to breakfast at the castle.”

“And the idiot is going on his own,” sighed Maki. “It was gonna happen eventually.”

“Our captain might be an idiotic male at times, but he usually pulls through!” exclaimed Tenko. She clapped her hands and a few flowers bloomed near her fingers. “So let's just put our faith in him to not screw things up! Now we can go to that spa I was talking about! Maki, I'm sure you'll love lying on the hot rocks!”

Maki grabbed her tail and pouted a bit. “Fine, fine I'll go with you,” she mumbled.

Tenko cried in joy, a couple more small flowers blooming from her happiness.

K1-B0 smiled. “Well you two enjoy your spa time, I'll go inform the rest of the crew.”

* * *

When Kaito arrived, he was escorted by a fish servant to a larger garden in another part of the castle. There was a long table with many different foods placed, a few that he recognized but most where completely foreign to Kaito. On one end was Kokichi, slumped in their seat and drumming their fingers on the table in boredom. He perked up after noticing Kaito, and jumped up in his seat.

“Oh dear Captain! You kept me waiting!” they exclaimed. They ran up and hugged Kaito, throwing the taller man off balance a bit. “I feel safer already! Get this! Kirumi was soooo mad about yesterday! She tried to _eat_ me alive!!”

“H-Hah?” blurted out Kaito. “Y-You're totally lying!”

“Nishi! You're picking up quick! I didn't think you were capable of that,” said Kokichi in fake amazement. “But Kirumi _is_ pretty scary when she's mad.”

“I... wouldn't doubt that,” agreed Kaito. He tried pulling on the prince's arms but they had a vice grip on him. “Um... you gonna let go of me?”

Kokichi looked up, his head resting squarely on Kaito's chest. His expression was deadpan. “Aww, but you're warm. I'm so cold and dead inside... I need all the warmth I can get.”

“Uh...huh...”

“But that's a lie. I'm actually not a touchy-feely kind of guy,” he said. He let go and shoved Kaito a little before walking back to the table.

Kaito took a seat across from the prince. “Anyways, thanks for inviting me today. After yesterday I wasn't sure where we stood on—”

“Oh, this was all Gonta's idea,” interrupted Kokichi. He grabbed a purple, smoky drink and played with the swirly straw. “He said I had to 'apologize' for yesterday and to be a 'gentleman' about it. But I don't have to like you or your bosses to play nice.”

“I should have figured as much,” muttered Kaito. Looking over the spread of food, he settled on getting some kind of round, pink bread with a sugary shell on it. “What's your deal with the Federation? Is it really just because of the bad blood with your mom?”

The prince avoided answering right away, instead choosing to finish their drink. They seemed to be giving the questions a lot more weight than Kaito expected them to. Soon enough, they grinned and said, “The Federation always talks a big talk about protecting the universe and spreading hope, it's almost cute. But I could _never_ trust an organization that's as shady as them.”

“Shady?! What the hell are you talking about?” hissed Kaito before taking a large bite into the sugary sweet bread.

“Hmm, hm, hmm I guess you wouldn't kn~ow,” sang Kokichi. “You know Captain, peace does sound nice, but I have to make sure I get a good deal out of all this. After all, the future of Daisu Prime rests on my tiny shoulders. But your bosses have an agenda that I don't agree with.”

None of that made any sense to Kaito. The Federation was meant to be a paragon of justice and hope! What was Kokichi even implying by calling them shady? Maybe the prince just didn't want to lose any of the colony planets. That was definitely something that the Federation would want to include in the treaty. Kaito was about to give his two cents on the issue, when Kirumi stepped into the garden.

“Good morning Captain,” she said while bowing to Kaito. “Is the breakfast to your liking?”

“Oh, uh, yeah it's all good stuff! Lot of it looks sweeter than I'm used to,” he said bashfully.

“His Majesty does have a large sweet tooth, but I can get you something more savory if you want,” she spoke while clearing away empty silverware. “By the way Your Majesty, the Lady Celestia arrived a few moments ago. Should I have her wait for you and the Captain to finish breakfast?”

“Auntie Celes? Hmph! She said she'd be here around lunchtime!” huffed Kokichi, crossing his arms and pouting. “Well... might as well invite her to eat with us. You don't mind, do you Captain?”

“Nah, I don't mind. I'd love to meet her.”

“...Very well then. One moment please.”

As Kirumi walked away, Kokichi leaned forward in their chair. “Psst! Captain,” they whispered. “If you think I'm a liar then wait until you get to know Auntie. That's why her hair is huge, it's full of secrets and lies.”

“Wait... how do I know you're not lying?” whispered Kaito.

Before they could continue this conversation, Kirumi returned with a dainty woman following her. She had ceramic white skin similar to Kokichi, and wore a frilly dress in royal monochrome. Her hair was a huge mass of black smoke styled into twin-drill pigtails. Her eyes were a deep red and they twinkled mysteriously, like she was carrying many secrets but was waiting for the best time to reveal them. She went up to Kokichi first and gave him a peck on the cheek.

“Good morning, and how is my favorite nephew doing?” she asked. Her voice had some kind of posh accent to it, but one that Kaito couldn't really place as being from somewhere specific.

“Hey! I'm your only nephew so there's no competition for your love!” cried Kokichi. “Anyways, you won't believe what happened a few days back! One of the servants came into my room WITH A BOMB!”

“Oh goodness gracious. That must have been terrifying for you,” she gasped.

“Yep! But Gonta came crashing in, grabbed the servant, and flew out of the window! Then they both blew up in the sky!!”

“Oh dear... poor Gonta... and he was such a good fellow,” she said while clutching her hands to her chest.

“But it's okay! 'Cuz you already know I'm lying,” he said with a grin. 

“I most certainly did not. You had me fooled, my dear,” she said with a smile. She tapped Kokichi's nose and then turned to look at Kaito. “I don't believe we've met before. Kokichi, aren't you going to introduce me to your new friend?”

“This is Captain Momota, he works for the Federation. And Captain, this is my aunt Lady Celestia.”

Kaito shot up from his chair and extended his arm out. “Pleasure to meet ya, Ma'am!”

Celestia smiled but didn't give her hand. “The pleasure is all mine, and you may call me Lady Celes.” She moved to sit down between the two. “I'm actually very familiar with the Future Federation, I personally know a few of the higher ups.”

“O-Oh wow,” fumbled Kaito as he sat back down. He wasn't too sure what to think of this woman right now, she seem nice enough. Maybe a little snooty? But her having connections to the Federation while her nephew seemed to dislike the whole organization was... odd.

“Auntie Celes knows people from all across the universe,” said Kokichi. He grabbed something that looked like custard with smoke coming out. “I guess it comes with the job?”

“What do you do, Lady Celes?” asked Kaito.

She smiled and took a sip from a frothy tea drink. “It's not really a job, more like something to pass the time. I own one of the casino's in Daisu Prime. I hosts competitions and do a little playing myself.”

“Ah.. guess the casino business brings in lots of different folk to try their luck.”

“Precisely. And while many are clueless idiots who do not understand the nature of luck, I have been able to meet some interesting people as well. I once met a slime who was a treasure hunter. They pawned off some magnificent trinket, then came to my casino and won double the money they had made.”

“W-Woah...”

“Captain, do you have any interest in gambling?”

Kaito rubbed the back of his neck. “Nah I've never tried it, I don't think it's a hobby I should pick up.”

Celestia studied Kaito's face for a moment. “But you definitely tried it at least once, didn't you? A momentary victory but shortly after you lost it all. I bet it was the slots, wasn't it?”

“Uh...” Kaito froze.“A-Actually yeah... that's all true. H-How can you tell?”

“You have a very honest face, Captain,” she said with a coy smile. “I noticed your little white lie, but the rest were just educated guesses on my part.”

The rest of the breakfast went by seemingly smoothly. Kaito and Celes would talk every once in a while. Meanwhile, Kokichi seemed content with stuffing their face with more food. Eventually, Celes had her full and excused herself to head up her guest bedroom. It was once again just the prince and the captain sitting in the garden.

“Finally! I thought that bitch would never leave,” whined Kokichi. Irritation obviously shown on their face.

“W-What the hell? You're aunt seems like an alright lady!” yelled Kaito.

Kokichi rolled his eyes. “You talked to her for like 30 minutes, you barely know a thing about her.”

“W-Well I barely know you, and I trust ya enough!”

“....That's because you're an idiot,” deadpanned Kokichi. His voice was low, almost a whisper. “But if you say you trust me, then would you believe me if I said Auntie Celes wants to start a royal coup?”

Kaito was in shock. He slammed the table and a cup fell over. “A coup?” he choked out. “N-No way...You really mean...?”

“I've got lots of enemies who would love to kill me off. Auntie is just one of them,” he said. He was grinning rather creepily, and a crack or two was starting to form. “How do you think Momma got sick all of a sudden?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> :D next chp may or may not involve an attempted murder on our lovely prince, whenever that update happens.
> 
> oh and btw if you haven't picked up on it: the Daisu in the planet name is meant to sound like Dice


	4. Masks Are an Alien Concept

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hhey, so thank u all for the nice comments. some were recent too! i almost never know what to say so i usually scream internally when i get comments on stuff. ;w; but! i'm happy that ppl are enjoying this so far!! even tho i haven't updated in a while... but here's a chp now!
> 
> oh, i think i'm gonna try to writing little excerpts for alien species as i come up with names for them. i'll post 1-2 at a time on the end notes

“Woah, woah hold up. Why are you springing this on me all of a sudden?”

“What do you mean, Captain?” said Kokichi. The few cracks that had formed moments ago began to repair themselves as the prince's smile slipped off.

“You say you don't like me and the Federation, and you don't trust us. Yet you're telling me these serious accusations about part of your family?”

Kokichi shrugged. Their face was expressionless. “You're free to believe me or not. I could be lying about all that anyway. Maybe _I'm_ the one who killed Momma? And I wanna keep suspicion off of me?”

“Don't even joke about that,” said Kaito, his tone becoming grim.

“You don't think I could do it?”

“...I'd like to believe that you wouldn't try a stunt like that.”

The prince turned their gaze to the side, muttering something under their breath. They seemed to thinking things over, or maybe they were just getting bored? Kaito wasn't sure what he preferred; the dramatics or the blank face. Either way, he felt like he couldn't get a good reading on the prince. Sure, he had dealt with plenty of stubborn folks who closed themselves off (some were even part of his crew), but not really with someone who played and danced around with their lies. Did Kokichi not take any of this seriously? Just the thought of that was enough to annoy Kaito.

Then again... the idea of a coup was entirely within the realm of possibility. It made sense that the queen would have a lot of enemies, and those enemies would transfer over to her child. It was also likely that there would be fighting within the royal family for the throne. Kaito stared at the small prince sitting across from him, trying to sort through it all. If the coup was a very really threat, then Kaito would easily vow to protect Kokichi and see to it that they got the crown.

“Hey Captain, what's with that smoldering glare?” wondered Kokichi. A small smirk was on their lips now.

“Huh? I'm just thinkin' about stuff,” replied Kaito, snapping out of his thoughts.

“You knooow~ Eye contact is a super big part of my people's culture.”

“Is it now?” That peaked Kaito's interest a bit. Although he was pretty proficient in the main language used here and had some basic knowledge, there was a lot about Daisu Prime and it's people that he just wasn't able to learn beforehand.

“Yep! I'm not lying!” At this assertion, Kokichi covered his eyes with his hands and smiled. “They say you can learn a lot about someone by looking at their eyes!”

“Yeah, pretty sure lots of species are like that? Humans have nonverbal communication too, ya know.”

“But it's more than that too! There's rituals and traditions that involve it,” he said, peeking one eye through his fingers. “It can turn into like a psychic link, it's a big part of weddings because of that.”

“W-Wait really?” Kaito's eyes flickered to the side.

“Nishishi! Don't worry! It's a lot harder to create a link than just having a staring contest,” laughed Kokichi. He dropped his hands and looked towards the door. “Anyways, I think breakfast has gone on for too long. I'll call for a servant to escort you out!”

“H-Hold on! We ain't done talking!” yelled out Kaito as the prince walked to the door. 

“What's there left to talk about?” wondered Kokichi, turning his head back a little.

“Well, like... we can't leave the whole coup talk up in the air! I don't fully get why you brought it up only to backpedal like that... I guess you're just scared—”

“Scared? Me?”

Kaito shrugged. “I mean, yeah, anyone would be scared to be in your position. You don't wanna trust even those who ought to be closest to you. My word might not be worth much right now, but I promise to make sure the crown ends up on your pretty little head! On my honor as a man and Captain!”

“.......Is that all? Can I kick you out now?”

“Tch! You little—yeah, yeah I'm done now,” he said and walked towards Kokichi.

“Lovely! Expect a call from Gonta real soon!” They pushed Kaito through the door just as a servant was approaching. “Show the dear Captain the way out! I've got stuff to do!”

Kokichi spun around and ran off down the hall. They could hear Kaito yell indignantly after them, but they didn't really care. They laughed and headed towards their room, mindful of hiding the growing irritation from showing on their face. The captain said that Kokichi was scared. _Scared._ Like a child. It was probably a lucky guess on Kaito's part. No, it _had_ to be a guess. Otherwise, the captain was a lot more intuitive over others' emotions than Kokichi initially took him for. Because Kokichi _was_ scared for their life. They had been scared long before their mother had been lying feebly on her bed with smoky hair growing thinner. Your average idiot shouldn't be able to just guess that, and Kaito had looked very much like an idiot to Kokichi. 

When Kokichi reached his room, he made sure to lock his room before jumping onto his bed and pulling out a tablet from under the pillows. He tried to use the screen like a mirror, and was content to find that there were zero cracks on his face. The Fumask species had an annoying trait that made their bodies crack due to strong emotions. However, that didn't make them terrible liars. A good actor could put on a huge show of being raving mad or incredibly joyful. Then dozen of cracks could appear but their true feelings would still be hidden away.

“ _Kichi dear, never settle for a single facade. It may work for your Auntie Celes, but trust me when I say it's much more fun to switch between different masks! It keeps the idiots and bad guys from figuring you out.”_

He sighed as the tablet flickered on with a soft glow. His mom would always give advice like that. It seemed to work for the most part, except apparently for moments like right now. Grabbing the stylus on the side, he opened the notepad app. On the screen now was a chart filled with little drawings. It was divided into three columns—a happy face, question marks, and a skull. The skull column was filled with many smiley faces. One of them was a doodle of his aunt, complete with big drill pigtails. He picked the purple color and, under the question mark row, he drew a grinning face with dumb spiky hair like a comet.

“The captain might be an interesting idiot,” mumbled Kokichi to themselves. “But the higher ups in the damn Federation could make him turn on me.... Plus there's his crew... that Ma'Teiida could be a threat. Have to keep an eye on her...”

Switching to red, he drew an angry lizard face under the skull column. He looked over the list with care. A number of the staff, like Kirumi, were under the question mark column. These were folks who he suspected would serve any ruler whether it was him or someone else on the throne. The happy face column only had a handful of doodles, and Gonta was the only one from the castle on that column. The rest were connections he had from different parts of Daisu Prime.

Kokichi groaned and tossed the tablet to the side. “Ugghhh!! This is such a pain.” He fell backwards into the fluffy pillows. “I wonder if it's too late to steal a spaceship and become a space pirate. Heh... That'd be more fun than what I'm dealing with right now...”

He shut off the tablet and moved it back under the pillows. He wanted to avoid his troubles for a little while longer. A nap sounded like a good idea. Kokichi threw his head into the pillows and hoped no one would come knocking any time soon.

* * *

Tenko was in high spirits. Not only had she convinced Maki to go to a spa later today, but right now the two of them were out _shopping_. She was so giddy at being able to convince someone reserved like the Ma'Teiida to go out with her. She even got Maki to buy something! It was a pair of red ribbon bands that Tenko had picked out. Although Maki's “hair” was coarse skin, Tenko managed to style it into two pigtails.

“Look Maki! We're matching!” said Tenko, pointing to her own dark pigtails tied with white ribbons. They were currently at a cafe to eat lunch. A holographic screen near them was playing some space opera show with subtitles in an intergalactic language.

“Yeah... I guess so,” said Maki, but she didn't sound as excited as her friend. Instead, she was staring intently at the dark smoke coming out of her beverage. Her tail was wrapped around her and she tugged at it in frustration.

“Maki, what's wrong?”

“Nothing's really wrong.”

“You're pouting. Come on, you can tell Tenko.”

“It's not a big deal. I don't even really understand everything that they're saying...”

Tenko looked around at the tables surrounding them. She spotted a pair of teenagers nearby who were furtively whispering and glancing over at her friend. Quickly becoming fed up at the sight, she got up and walked straight to their table. The tiny flowers on her skin began to close up in response to her vexation. She glared at the duo; a feline girl who looked very embarrassed and a Fumask who tried to keep a smile on their face.

“Excuse me, but if you little kids have something to say about my dear friend, maybe say it in a language she can understand.”

The girl stuttered a bit, but was cut off by her partner patting her paw. They looked up at Tenko, hazy red hair covered one of their eyes, and said in a calm voice, “Oh, I was just telling my friend how I wish I could wear such nice hair accessories like your friend over there....”

“Really now?” Tenko glared skeptically at that small smile. “Why don't you go over there and tell her then?”

The teenager's smile slipped momentarily, but it returned a bit wider. “S-Sure... I can do that.” They stood up and walked towards where Maki sat. Their feline friend nervously tapped the table with her claws.

“H-Hey there Miss,” said the teen. They were trying to keep up a friendly, casual front. “Soooo... like I was telling your friend there—”

“It's okay. You don't have to say anything,” said Maki. “Your face says all I need to know.”

“C-Come on, I paid already so let's leave,” muttered the feline girl as she grabbed her friend's shoulder. “You're already cracking... and it'll just get worse.”

The duo shuffled out of the cafe. The Fumask was covering up their cheeks and pouting angrily. Tenko sighed and went back to her seat. A news reporter's voice could be heard on the screen as headlines appeared on screen.

**_Up Next: A cargo spaceship carrying a shipment of Chitan porcelain has crashed in the Southwest District._ **

**_Later: An interview with Miss Ruruka, the popular sweets chef in charge of the royal coronation cake!_ **

“Ugh! Lil brats! They're lucky I didn't use some Neo-Bloomkido moves on them,” huffed Tenko. She was angrily smashing at her cake slice with a fork.

“Don't go scaring civilians, that's my job,” said Maki, a tiny smile creeping onto her face.

“They shouldn't be scared of you though... hey, did anyone say anything when we were out shopping?”

“People probably said plenty of stuff in hush whispers, but I can't say for certain. I only noticed those two just now because I know a word or two of the main Daisian language.”

“What did you hear?”

“....Something about my hair,” Maki pouted. “I got pissed at the thought of them talking after you went out of your way to style it and pick out these ribbons...”

“Awww, Maki you're so cute!!”

Due to her dark scales, it was hard to tell if Maki actually blushed. But she sounded bashful when she said, “Whatever... so, what are we doing next?”

“Hmm, we still got time to spend before out appointment... wanna go to another shop? Maybe I can pick out a whole cute outfit for you next!”

Tenko laughed excitedly while Maki rolled her eyes but smiled a bit anyway. After paying for their food, they headed out to enjoy the rest of their day.

* * *

**_Crash._ **

When Kokichi woke up, it wasn't to the sound of Gonta or Kirumi banging on the door. Rather, he had heard the faint noise of glass breaking. He jolted out of bed and reached for the bedside drawer where he kept a remote alarm and pressed it. It was a smoke bomb that had been thrown into his room and broke the window. White smoke was filling the room fast, and it was starting to make Kokichi feel a bit dizzy.

“Cough! Ack! D-Dammit!”

He ran towards the door and fumbled with the knob. In his panic he briefly forgot that he had locked the door earlier. Soon enough he got the door open and tumbled out. Kokichi lied on the floor, his head felt like a ton of lead.

“Oh no! Your Majesty!!” It was Gonta buzzing down the hall alongside a maid.

“Nish—cough! Ack! I'm o-okay! Haha—cough! J-Just—” He tried to laugh it off but kept coughing.

Gonta picked up the tiny prince and then turned towards the maid. “I'm taking him to zz-zafety!! You need to call more zz-ztaff and make ss-sure the zmoke zz-stops!”

He let his wings spread out and flew threw the castle halls. Kokichi slowly lost consciousness.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> excerpts from the Intergalactic Encyclopedia
> 
> Ma'Teiida – A lizard species, predominantly female, with black or other dark colored scales. Their “hair” is made of rough flaps of skin & supported by cartilage, when angered or wanting to appear threatening the “hair” can flare up. They are known for impressive strength, agility, and whip-like tail that can break a tree trunk into pieces.
> 
> Taan-tei – A humanoid species with pointy ears and cool colored skin (shades of blue/green/purple). They have an ability to read electromagnetic waves in the air through their hair and see the waves through their eyes. A common detail in hairstyles is having an antenna because it can pick up waves in a larger radius, but it is not necessary for the ability to work. They're known for surveillance and deductions skills.


	5. Fumask Bio 101

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hewwo... it feels like it's been far too long. I've been stuck in a rut that I'm starting to kick out of. tbh I wrote most of this over the weekend after I saw everyone talk about voltron. There's no direct correlation to this series, I don't watch that series, but seeing it on twitter made me wanna write about space au lol  
> this chapter... is really just world building and set up. but ppl seem to like details like that, so I hope it's interesting anyway ^o^  
> also, my tumblr is @shikkokunoprelude and I hope to start using it more often. hopefully post more oumota drabbles.  
> http://shikkokunoprelude.tumblr.com/

Kirumi skittered along the hallway of the castle; taking care not to bump into any of the dozens of staff that were hurrying about. A silver tray with a lid was balanced on one hand, a pitcher held in another, and cleaning supplies in two other hands. She passed by a pair of servants whispering nervously among themselves, and she shot them an icy glare which made them rush off to work. Apparently, the prince being the target of an attack always made for good gossip. Kirumi never saw the appeal for that kind of talk; it wasn't the first incident and it wouldn’t be the last. The important thing was fulfilling her duty in caring for her master. The spider maid turned a corner and went up a set of stairs. This new hallway was nearly empty save for her and Gonta, who was guarding one of the rooms. Although his official job was royal advisor, at times such as these he doubled as a bodyguard of sorts for the prince. As she approached him, Gonta gave a curt nod.

“The nurse is performing the detoxification right now,” he said.

“Where is the doctor?”

“They said they received an emergency call, but the doctor assured me that the nurse is very capable,” replied Gonta as he went to knock on the door.

The door opened and the nurse stepped out. They were a Fumask with choppy, dark purple smoke-hair and bandages wrapped around an arm and leg. She seemed a bit nervous, and it was reflected in the thin cracks that were present on her face and hands.

“H-Hello, I’m Nurse Mikan,” they said while fidgeting in their spot.  “I-I’m sorry that my boss stepped out, but the detox is going smoothly. “So, if you two return later--”

“I plan to check up on His Majesty right this instant,” said Kirumi. Although she wasn’t as big as Gonta, being an Arachnila meant that she was still bigger than the average Fumask. She was an imposing figure for the tiny nurse.

“O-Oh yes Ma’am, right away! But… um, this room is will get too crowded with… um the both of you. I-I mean no offense by that”

“None taken Nurse, I’ll keep watch by the door,” said Gonta as he moved back to his spot leaning on the wall.

When Kirumi followed the nurse inside, her eyes locked onto Kokichi’s tiny body lying on the bed. His smoky hair was thinning out. His eyes were entirely white, the purple irises had disappeared and left only white sclera. A tube was attached to his mouth, which connected to a machine that had different tanks attached. Currently, the machine was humming softly as lilac smoke was pumped out of the prince’s body and into one of the tanks. The nurse went to check the monitor connected to the tanks.

“His smoke is so light-colored… Nurse, was it a strong poison?” asked Kirumi as she set down the plate and pitcher she had brought.

“Not quite, it’s not as strong as Arachnila poisons for example, but it was a high dosage. Also it seems to have spread quickly inside him,” replied Nurse Mikan. “Has his room been quarantined off?”

“Yes, and there are purifiers in some of the hallways.”

“Good! Good… um, I can explain the detox process for you,” said the nurse. She began pointing at the different parts of the machine. “Right now, the prince is being pumped out through this tube and into this pressurized tank. The tank contains an adsorbent material which, at high pressures, will trap the toxic molecules and seperate it from the prince’s smoke. The clean smoke will then slowly travel into this smaller compartment, where it will be ready to be pumped back into a new body.”

“Excellent. We can place him in his spare body while we get in contact with Miss Miu. The current body needs to be disposed of.”

“Of course. Then, the doctor and I can dispose of the toxins properly. I can give a few samples for any investigation purposes.”

“Yes, that would be great.” Kirumi nodded. She huddled down closer to the small tank that had a few wisps of clean, dark purple smoke. _‘His Majesty is such a pitiful thing right now, but at least while he recovers I have some quiet time to work on things. If he were able to talk to us while in there, I’m sure he’d be causing a huge ruckus.'_

Kirumi decided that she was content with how the detox was moving along. She pointed to the plate and pitcher, explained they were refreshments for the two medical staff, and then excused herself. She waved goodbye to Gonta, and then skittered away to work on other tasks. She needed to call Miss Miu about commissioning a new body for the prince. There was still cleaning to be done, cooking to check up on, and not to mention the plans for the coronation ceremony. She briefly wondered what they would tell Captain Momota about this incident, but that decision would go towards Gonta and Kokichi.

* * *

There was a common misconception that androids were cold to the touch. In reality, their internal robotics made them quite warmer than a number of other species, even with their cooling systems working at optimal conditions. That had been part of K1-B0’s explanation when Shuichi had first said that holding hands was very comforting and pleasant.

_“The Taan-tei have one of the lower body temperatures in this part of the galaxy. Naturally, you will gravitate towards warmth. It’s part of why you look content when the captain is around you, isn’t it?”_

_“I… no, I don’t think that’s quite it. I don’t see either of you as heating pads or something,” said Shuichi, his complexion turning a darker blue from embarrassment. “I’m… content when I hang out with Momota because I enjoy his company. And… I like your company too, K1-B0.”_

_“Oh! Well, being on par with the captain for  your affection is an honor.”_

_“I think you’re past that level.”_

In hindsight, K1-B0 was a bit embarrassed that they couldn’t detect where that conversation was heading. They prided themselves in having a strong understanding of emotions. That was all in the past, now they felt like they understood the joy of intimate touch much better. Whether it was sharing a bed, hugging, holding hands, or kissing, they were all experiences that K1-B0 cherished and wanted more of them.

The two of them hadn’t gone on a proper date yet, their work as part of the Luminary crew kept them very busy. After his extensive research, K1-B0 provided Shuichi with a list of places to choose to visit today. In the morning, they went to a cafe near the hotel for breakfast. Then, Shuichi picked out a theater and they watched a random movie (it turned out to not be a _great_ movie, but they had fun pointing out dumb stuff about it). Currently, they were walking around a park and simply admiring the sights.

“This city, and I hypothesize the entire planet by extension, has some lovely plant life,” said K1-B0 as he knelt down to observe a bright pink flower with green specks. “I recognize some from the Federation archives, but others are either lacking specifics or not recorded at all.”

“I’m sure that information is out there,” said Shuichi, kneeling down beside the android. “You could look into the work that Korekiyo does.”

“Yes, I’m glad that our captain knows someone like Korekiyo...despite how they’re quite unnerving.”

The two of them met Korekiyo only once, shortly before the trip to Daisu Prime, in order for K1-B0 to install a language pack. Korekiyo was an anthropologist who was not connected to the Federation; a rare thing given how prominent the Future Federation was becoming to the universe in the last half of the millennium. Around 2 centuries ago, when Daisu Prime was starting a policy of seclusion, Korekiyo was one of the outsiders who could frequently travel and study the planet. In recent decades, as things rapidly shifted to the colonization of planets and introduction to tourism, Korekiyo was able to publish and teach more of their work. At one point, Kaito met them and that was how he was able to learn the main language of the planet.

“K1-B0, can you search for any flower shops? It’d be nice to take some back with us.”

“Oh! Flowers! How careless of me to forget!” exclaimed K1-B0 as he started looking up shops on his mini PC. “The articles I read did mention the importance of gifts.”

“It’s fine, you’re still doing great,” assured Shuichi, leaning closer to smooch the android’s cheek. “Let’s get going, okay?”

“V-Very well then,” agreed K1-B0. His pale face was turning red as he started to overheat.

* * *

It was late evening by the time that the detoxification was completed. Gonta was standing in a corner of the room, away from all of the major equipment. He watched silently as staff carried away the former body of the prince. Then, they brought in the replacement and set it on the bed. Right now it looked nothing more than an articulated doll body, a bit shorter in size than the previous body. The head was bald and had molded nose, open mouth, and eye sockets with black outlines. The inner part of the eye sockets were meant to be white like sclera, but there was a tiny defect on the right eye that gave it a bit of a yellowish color. It was an old spare body from when the prince was younger, and Gonta hoped that Miss Miu would deliver a newer body model before the coronation. A tube was inserted through the mouth, and the machine was turned on to allow Kokichi to travel back into the body. _His_ body. The previous body was too contaminated from the inside to ever be called his again.

When the doctor left, Nurse Mikan sighed in relief and stumbled down into a chair. Gonta felt pity for her; she never touched any of the refreshments that Kirumi had brought, instead preferring to constantly monitor the prince’s condition in case something awry went with the toxins. “Miss, why don’t you go eat dinner?” he asked. “You’ve done a wonderful job and deserve some rest.”

“O-Oh, thank you. But, I really should keep an eye on His Majesty,” she said with a tired smile. The thin cracks from earlier were more pronounced now.

“Forgive me if I speak out of turn, but I worry if you don’t rest soon then your stressful emotions will cause some serious harm to your body. I know a few tiny cracks can heal quickly, but one needs to allow their body to rest first.”

“I-I… w-well, you’re not _wrong_ … It’s just I’d like to make sure I do a good job until the end. Medical training is… all I’m really good at, I guess. I-I’m sorry for making you worry.”

“You don’t need to apologize over that, you have good work ethic. Why don’t I request a room in this hall to be opened? Someone can bring you dinner and you can nap if you desire it. I can stay with His Majesty, and if there’s an issue I will come get you.”

“Um… o-okay, I think I’d be okay with that.”

Once Nurse Mikan was situated in another room, Gonta went towards the bedside of the prince. He waited to see the first visual cues that life was returning to the body; the eyes were first as color began to reappear amid the white sclera. It was like the irises were being painted onto the sockets, except it was happening due to the nature of Kokichi’s smoke interacting with the material that the body was made out of. Due to the defect in the right eye, that eye became a mixture of purple and gold. The left eye was the usual shade of purple. It took about 45 minutes before Kokichi could start to blink and move his eyes around.

“I’m glad you’re safe, Your Majesty,” said Gonta. “Your recovery is going smoothly.”

Blink. Kokichi narrowed his eyes. He desperately wanted to speak but it was impossible at the moment.

“Your room has been quarantined and locked, you will stay here for now. All of your belongings have to be purified in case of poisons. Only Kirumi and I were the ones to actually enter your room.”Gonta spoke quickly, hoping to answer all the unasked questions.

The prince only continued to glare. Dark purple wisps were slowly starting to come out of the top of his head, eventually it would form his hair.

“We searched your room--I’m sorry, I know you like your privacy--and I found the tablet on your bed. It was purified and it’s in my room, in a vault along with some other stuff I thought important. I’ll bring them to you later.”

Kokichi blinked once, and his eyes seemed to have lighten up a bit.

Gonta sighed. He rubbed his claws together in worry. “The next thing I need to tell you, is that we should inform Captain Momota about this incident.” He glanced down at Kokichi, but only received a blank stare. “I don’t know if you’re done with your little games, but I think having someone from the Future Federation fully on our side will help you. I’m going to contact him tonight.”

Kokichi glanced sideways. _‘Too soon…way too soon,’_ was what he wanted to say, but couldn’t. Sure, he had been working on a way of using Kaito’s crew, but it was too soon for all that! He wasn’t even sure if he liked any of them. But this was the hand that life had dealt him. Kokichi closed his eyes and pretended to sleep, his thoughts trying to put together the pieces of his plans.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> excerpt from the Intergalactic Encyclopedia  
> Fumask - The dominant species of Daisu Prime, their kind was born in the recent millennium. They appear humanoid with wisp-like hair. Their bodies will crack in response to emotions, but small cracks will heal quickly. Large cracks will damage the body permanently. 
> 
> excerpt from Korekiyo's research journals  
> The Fumask species have been a reserved, seclusionist sort ever since contact was made with the Future Foundation. At first glance they appear to be bipedal creatures with traits in common with Humans, except for their smooth porcelain-like skin and wispy hair which many see as quite beautiful. However, the body is a husk that houses the true essence of the Fumask--a kind of sentient smoke. Their bodies are made of a kind of porcelain that reacts with the smoke, allowing the Fumask to add physical features to the body as well as move around..... Fumask handle the cracks in different ways. Many are stoic, serious individuals so that they limit the creation of cracks. Others are more carefree and find no problem with a few cracks that can appear from smiling too much. The craftiest are those who will exaggerate and manipulate their own emotions, in order to deceive or appear intimidating,


End file.
